Due to the physical characteristics of concrete, including the ability to withstand strong compressive loads, concrete is often utilized as the building material of choice to create foundations, walls, floors and various other structures. Concrete is a composite material composed mainly of water, aggregate, and cement that when combined forms a fluid concrete mass. As the concrete cures, the cement forms a solid matrix binding all of the components together into a durable stone-like material. In its fluid state, concrete does not have the ability to hold or fake shape. Therefore, in the construction of concrete structures, temporary or permanent forms are utilized to give the concrete shape and form.
The forms generally consist of supports forming the perimeter of the structure with sheathing placed against the supports and on top of another to form the walls of the structure. Ties are used to space the sheathing apart and to hold them in piece. This creates the form with a cavity for the fluid concrete to be poured. After the form is complete, the fluid concrete is poured into the cavity and allowed to cure. For temporary forms, once the concrete has been cured the form is removed to expose the finished concrete. As a fluid mass, the concrete takes the shape of the mold as it cures, therefore more complex concrete structures may be constructed. In particular, concrete walls have been formed with aesthetically pleasing textured surfaces.
To construct the textured surfaces on concrete walls, form liners are inserted into the cavity of the forms and secured against the sheathing. The form liners provide an alternative surface to the flat surface of the sheathing in which the concrete cures and takes shape. As the concrete cures, it maintains the shape of the form liner. The form liners are used to create simple designs such as ridge, shiplap, simple shapes, and to more complex designs such as custom designs.
Form liners are generally made in large sections, such as 4-feet by 4-feet and made larger for custom applications. Due to its size, it is crucial to control the dimensions and weight of the form liner to allow an installer to adequately handle the form liner. Typically, form liners are constructed of plastic, elastomeric urethane, semi-elastomeric urethane, or any other material or combination of materials to keep weight low. The thickness of the form liner is minimized as an additional method of controlling weight. Due to the material, the design pattern, and the dimensions of the form liner, the form liners are susceptible to deflection due to the pressure created by the heavy concrete. The deflection of the form liners results in the finished concrete surface bulging further than what was designed or intended, resulting in designs exceeding the specification. This occurrence is usually undesired and can result in the necessity to demolish and re-pour the wall at great expense and time delay.
Currently, the remedy is to cut wood or foam shapes which fit within the voids between the form liner and the sheathing to provide support to counter the pressure of the concrete. This is a labor-intensive method and, in some cases, can cost more than the form liner used on the job. This defeats the purpose of using the form liner because a primary purpose of using a form liner is to repeat a pattern or design easily and quickly by placing textured sheets or panels adjacent to one another in a form without having to actually perform work on every square foot of wall to be poured.
In light of the above, it would be advantageous to provide a form liner system capable of withstanding the pressures of poured concrete in forms without deformation. It would further be advantageous to provide a backer panel having protrusions for use with form liners to support the axial loads on the form liner to prevent deflection. It would be further advantageous to provide a form liner system which Is transportable, easy to handle and easy to assemble.